It’s been a long time since we’ve had a World Series matchup like this one.
The Rays took care of the Guardians in Game 6 of the ALCS last night to advance to their third World Series in franchise history. Cleveland made things interesting with a two-out rally in the top of the eighth inning, but Yandy Díaz’s two-run homer in the bottom of the inning gave Tampa Bay some cushion before standout closer Bryan Baker worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out a 7–3 victory.
That sets up a Fall Classic showdown with the Brewers, with Game 1 set for Friday night in Milwaukee (8 p.m. ET on Fox).
It’s a noteworthy matchup for a variety of reasons, most obviously that neither team has won a World Series before. This will be the Brewers’ first World Series appearance since 1982, when they represented the American League and lost to the Cardinals in seven games. The Rays’ previous appearances came in 2008 (lost in five games to the Phillies) and 2020 (beaten in six games by the Dodgers). It’s just the second time in the past 100 years that the World Series will be contested by two teams that have never won it before. The only other time was in 1980, when the Phillies beat the Royals.
That’s a fun storyline, but I don’t expect it to be the dominant narrative of the series. Get ready to hear a lot of talk about how these teams find ways to win while operating with some of the lowest payrolls in the majors. It’s darkly funny that this World Series—the final baseball games that will be played before a potentially protracted lockout as MLB owners seek to overturn the sport’s entire economic system in the name of “competitive balance”—will be played between teams that rank 19th (Milwaukee) and 28th (Tampa Bay) in 2026 payroll.
Yes, these teams are a couple of real penny-pinchers, but they’re far from underdogs. The Brewers posted the best record in the NL this season at 103–59, and the Rays were the best in the AL (98–64). It’s just the sixth time since the start of the wild-card era that the No. 1 seed in both leagues won the pennant, according to YES Network researcher James Smyth. It’s also just the third time in the 21st century that both teams playing in the World Series won at least 98 games in the regular season.
It’s also rare to see two teams from cities of this size meet in the World Series. Depending on whether you look at metro area population or media market size, it’s either the first time since 2014 (Giants-Royals) or 1997 (Marlins-Cleveland) that the World Series will not feature one of the 10 largest cities in the country.
The “small market” factor and the two teams’ lack of established stars will lead to plenty of hand-wringing over the series' TV ratings. But who cares? If you’re a baseball fan, this is going to be a great series. It will feature two excellent teams with aggressive styles of play and intimidating bullpens. And hey, it’s better than watching the Dodgers win another one.
